New Zealand Parents Spark School Wi-Fi Panic

A pair of New Zealand fathers have successful petitioned to have Wi-Fi removed from a local elementary school after becoming concerned over health risks. Te Horo School turned off the classroom Wi-Fi connection after parents complained that the signals may be damaging their children’s health.

One of the fathers, Damon Wyman, was the parent of a young boy named Ethan, who tragically died of a brain tumor last year. After the sorrowful death of his young son, Wyman theorized that the boy’s cancer may have been caused by his exposure to network signals, particularly the Wi-Fi enabled iPod which young Ethan slept with. Along with fellow parent David Bird, Wyman launched a campaign to have Wi-Fi removed from the elementary school, recruiting a number of fellow parents.

The campaign was a success, and the school made the decision to remove Wi-Fi from its elementary premises at the end of 2013. Despite their acquiescence to the request, the school board stated that its actions were motivated by parental concerns, rather than any admittance of danger. Since Te Horo’s Wi-Fi network was disabled, the New Zealand ministries for education and health have both issued statements affirming that they have no cause to believe that Wi-Fi signals are in any way harmful to children.